Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Smells, Odors, Aromas, Fragrances.......of Armenia

The smell of the bathroom is overwhelming as I walk down the
hall. It is several meters ahead and at least it is inside the building, not
outside in the ever-changing weather of an Armenian autumn. Open holes atop a concrete platform, no water
to flush, and bring your own paper---- it does have ½ wall
partitions between the “pits” but no doors----that is the bathroom at my
college. There may be cold water,
although it freezes during the frigid winter months, but no soap or paper
towels for hand washing. I have trained
myself NOT to use these ancient disgusting facilities except in a dire
emergency, but plenty of other staff and the students at my college enter and
exit these places every day. They are accustomed to it or do not care
about the lack of esthetics which bothers me.
It is pathetic for children to encounter such degrading conditions and
not even realize there is a better way.

As I walk home today the warmth of the sun caresses my face.
I carry the jacket worn this morning to ward off the chilly, dampness of late
October. As I approach our neighborhood a familiar scent wafts across my path
and immediately excites my memory. A feeling of homesickness overcomes me.
Smoke is in the air and the smell of burning leaves so reminiscent of autumns
in the past evokes a strong emotional reaction. I am reminded of campfires, of
camping out, of cooking marshmallows to a crisp over an open fire. I can smell the
season’s first fire in our former home’s fireplace. Momentarily I forget the
blessings of such a warm, sunny autumn day when last year we had snow in
October. I continue to walk, deep in thought and reflection, and think of the
past, thousands of miles away from Armenia. The scent of burning leaves follows
me and I relish the moment. I take a breath and breathe in the essence of
autumn.

Students enjoying autumn leaves

______________________________________________________The smell of freshly baked bread greets us as we walk in our
neighborhood on certain days. Near our apartment is a family-run bakery which
specializes in the baking of lavash, the National Bread of Armenia. From early morning to nightfall, 4-5 women
work in this small place located on the street level of the owner’s home. They
can be seen mixing ingredients, rolling out the dough, slinging it into shape
like a pizza crust creator, then putting each piece into the special stone oven
to bake to Armenian perfection. Lavash is a thin Armenian bread which is served
with every home-cooked meal and in every food establishment in the country. Its
closest kin may be the bread used in wraps so popular in America or even the
delicate crepes served in France. When
purchased from the bakery, the customer gets 3 large sheets of lavash for 240
Armenian drams, about 60 cents in USD. Though thin, it is sturdy bread and one
served in a variety of ways without which an Armenian meal would be incomplete.
It is cut with scissors and placed in stacks beside each diner’s plate. In the absence of lavash’s daily aroma
drifting through the streets, our neighborhood would also be incomplete and our
morning walk would not be nearly as pleasant.
We will miss lavash when our time in Armenia ends.

Neighbor who makes lavash

Sheet of lavash as bought in Armenia

______________________________________________________ Cow dung, chicken droppings, pig pens ---all of these exist
in our neighborhood, and we live in a tourist town of Armenia. The smells create a barnyard-like odor
usually found in rural areas in the U. S.
Since there is no zoning or restriction against having small numbers of
livestock in town, we encounter random cows grazing along the streets and in
the center of town. One is just as likely to see chickens and occasionally pigs
and horses stopping traffic. Local drivers are accustomed to the presence of
animals in the street, and we’ve not seen any fatal accidents because of this
dual use of the roadways. The animals
are non-aggressive creatures whose main goal each day is to eat till full. This
goal will be increasingly more difficult to achieve as winter arrives. The
animals will then be confined to their owner’s small sheds and barns on the
coldest of days. Now though, they roam the streets untethered and unattended. Traveling alone or in small groups, the cows,
chickens, occasional pigs and a horse now and then, seem to know where to
graze, which garbage cans are full on a particular day and where they must
return to when it gets dark. To some people the animal odors are
distasteful smells one must endure. To us the smells are comforting and
indicate that other living things are sharing our space in Armenia. I like
that!

This is one of the regular cows who wanders our neighborhood producing the smells described above. She is definitely also willing to be photographed!

After I
wrote this post, it dawned on me………here in Armenia one of the distinguishing facial
traits seen in most Armenians is the person’s prominent nose. In fact, when my English students are asked
to describe their peers in an exercise focused on adjectives, they always
include their thoughts about the other student’s nose. Of course, this prompts
some uneasy laughter and good –natured teasing among the students. Maybe the Armenian focus on noses prompted my
focus on smells. Who knows (nose)?
Judy

No comments:

Post a Comment

Follow by Email

Followers

About Me

We are a long-time married couple with 2 adult children and 1 grandson. We are excited to be sharing this experience in the Peace Corps together although our work will be totally different. That's what makes life interesting! We first went to Niger, Africa but due to safety issues we were evacuated back to the US. Now we are in Armenia where we'll spend the next 2 years serving in the Peace Corps.
The contents of our website are ours and do not reflect any position of the Peace Corps or the US Government.